TUESDAY:

We started the day picking up mommy from work. She had a long night, but was ready for a great trip to the coast with Angelina. After going home so mommy could take a shower and change clothes, we left the house Tuesday morning at 9:00 AM. The first stop was the bank, where mommy deposited her check and pulled out some cash for the trip. When I put the check and deposit slip in the drive through box, I looked up to see myself being reflected from the teller window. I got scared. Mommy had a good laugh at my expense.

We got out of San Antonio and stopped at a gas station to fill up and get something to eat. We spent $45 for 12 gallons of gas. Whether that is a little or a lot in the future, it was definitely very expensive compared to one year ago. Mommy picked up 3 krispy kreme donuts, an Aquafina water and a Green Tea for herself. Angelina already had her water in a sippy cup from home.

We had to stop outside of Pleasanton because some little girl was getting fussy on the drive. We stopped at a Shell to change her diaper and mommy moved to the back seat to spend some time with Geli. Of course Angelina and mommy got very relaxed. They both took a little nap on the drive to Corpus Christi. With Corpus on the horizon, everyone woke up to smell the salty air and check out the view. We stopped at Target to pick up some supplies. We found some cereal, fruit snacks for Geli, 2 different suncreens, deoderant, a toothbrush, a cover up for Geli, and a diaper bag dispenser. When trying to find the sunscreen, we ran into Bob and Ernest!

After shopping we headed to a barber shop to get a quick trim before having lunch. Then, Mommy, Geli and I decided to stop by Rudys to get some BBQ. Yum. We had some leftovers, packed them up and decided to head to the hotel. Bob called to say that he and Ernest were also on their way after picking up Quiznos next to where we just cut our hair! Crazy!

Next we went to Walmart and bought some Disney Cars, pens, sunglasses for Geli, note pads, razors and flip flops. We got back on the road and drove to the hotel, Port Royal. A guard had let us on the property. This guard took our name and license number, but said Bob had not checked in. We thought this was strange since we had just talked to Ernest who said they were in room 110 and on the third floor. We packed everything on one of their carts and went up to the room. I knocked on the door for 3110, but there was no answer. I called Ernest again and asked where they were. After describing the place (which did not include a basketball court as we were expecting) we found out we were at the wrong place!

We got to the correct hotel, and the correct room, 110. We put everything inside and got read to go outside. I checked my phone and found a voicemail. Dad had left a message that they were 10 minutes away. Looked outside and I saw him walking down below. We helped mom and dad bring in 6 boxes of food, a bunch of bags, 3 ice chests and a plethora of other items. We helped put up the perishables and went down to the beach. Geli was ready to jump in the water, but ended up falling in.

There were way too many Jellyfish around, so we went up to the pool. We spent a couple of hours enjoying the water and getting Geli used to the idea of swimming. Geli started by walking near the steps, but then started using her arm floaties and drifting around the pool.

We then headed upstairs and had a nice sushi dinner. I had a couple glasses of Dr. B. It's not quite Dr. Pepper, but not bad. We relaxed by the TV and watched Knocked Up with Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen. I hung around the living room and read some of my graphic novel, Sinestro Corps. Marcela was the first one asleep after a long day, and I was the last one out.

WEDNESDAY:

I woke up along with Marcela at 7 am the next morning. We found that mom and dad were already awake. For breakfast, I had some left over roast beef on bread from Rudy’s while everyone else had some muffins. I woke up Geli a little later and she nibbled on some fruit. It was a relaxing morning.

We all got ready and set out for Port Aransas. Our first stop was the beach where it was very windy and barren of people. A short walk up the long pier and we were in the pier store looking around at what they had... not much. Mom checked on what we needed to do to get out onto the pier itself and was told it would be $2 a person! Just to walk out there! We decided to move on.

Next, we checked out the short pier next to the ferry. There were quite a few people fishing. They were mostly catching sea catfish, but were also getting some other tasty looking fish. A quick drive to the jetties next to the ferry and we were talking to some people about catching crabs. They said our best bet was to head to the bridges near Aransas Pass.

From there, we went off to do some shopping! An old souvenir shop where they have funny paintings with face holes took up most of our time. I found a few items for people at work, 3 bear pirate statues and a glow in the dark jellyfish paperweight for Geli. Dad paid the tab on the jellyfish for his granddaughter. I also picked up a pair of super dark sunglasses. I could not drive with them on.

The IGA grocery store was our next destination. We picked up some ice, pasta, spaghetti sauce, detergent, batteries and other ‘need’ items for the trip. Walking in there is like a trip to the past though. The store is so old, and has not been remodeled. It almost feels like living in the 70's again.

Marcela would have killed us if didn’t stop by Winton’s next. They have some of the best chocolate and caramel snacks we have ever had. While most of us were trying out the samples, Dad and Geli went around the store checking out the oddities. First, there is a very large rattlesnake is a box with a window. The snake didn’t really move, so Geli lost interest quick. Then they saw the mounted deer and boar heads. Geli had a great time looking and pointing at them. Grandpa then gave his little granddaughter some candy to chew on. Lucky girl.

We then came back to the room and had some tacos for lunch. Marcela and I cut up the tomatoes, onions and lettuce while dad cooked up the meat. After a hearty meal, I laid down to read some of my graphic novel, ‘Fables book 2'. Geli and Marcela took a little nap while everyone else headed out.

Soon after, Geli woke up and all three of us headed out to the pool to have some fun. We spent a couple hours swimming as Geli became much more confident in her arm floaties. She was getting real good about floating around on her own and trying to kick her feet to move. Lots of picture taking ensued.

We trudged back up to the room exhausted. Snacking was the activity of choice as we chomped on chips, crackers and sushi while watching The Princess Bride. The movie ended and mom & dad headed to their room for a nap. Bob and Ernest went back to their room while Marcela, Geli and I sat back and watched the end of When Harry Met Sally. Geli played with her shark that Grandma bought earlier in the day. She kept singing the Jaws tune and attacking our stomachs. DUM DUM... DUM DUM

Everyone came back around for dinner as dad cooked up a few different flavors of shrimp. We planned to sit down for a game of Farkel, a dice game that dad had picked up earlier in the day. But POKER was the name of the game that we played all night. Geli and Marcela called it an early night. It was around 11:30 when the rest of us decided to call it quits.

THURSDAY:

Marcela and I woke up about 8:30 am to find mom, dad and Geli already awake. The plan was to go crab hunting, so we packed up and headed out. Marcela, Ernest and Bob stayed behind. (Though Bob would show up later) We took off if the van and got onto the Port Aransas ferry. Geli enjoyed crossing the water on the ferry, where we saw lots of birds and ships. She also like watching the water splash up against the boat. Sadly, we didn’t see any porpoises.

We stopped off on the side of the road to look for a good crabbing spot under the bridge. After putting out the bait and getting our feet wet, success was ours! Geli had her first experience with hermit crabs. She was apprehensive at first, but really enjoyed watching them move around. More picture taking ensued.

We caught approximately 20 crabs including quite a few big ones, about 10 golf ball sized hermit crabs and a few dozen minnows. Bob showed up after 30 minutes and was catching most of the crab. Geli in the mean time was getting cranky since her and I had not eaten any breakfast. She gnawed on some Cheesy Poofs that mom had in the van while I just suffered.

After a couple hours the sun became unbearable, so we headed out. Dad and Bob decided that they wanted to check out the crabs out near the jetties. Mom, Geli and I went to the HEB in Aransas Pass to pick up some cough medicine for Marcela who had developed a sore throat. We also grabbed some bottled water, vitamin C, cough drops, a barrett, some sugar, bread and a donut for Geli. We forgot the ice though!

We headed back to the room and jumped on the ferry again. We saw lots of boats and birds. Geli was just mesmerized. When we got back to the hotel, we found Dad and Bob were already back. I put together some sandwich items for everyone to munch on and filled up myself as I was still pretty hungry. Dad cooked up the crabs which we also enjoyed.

I laid down for a quick nap with Marcela, who was feeling a bit better. Geli and mom took a nap a little while later. We all woke up a bit later and Geli went down to the pool with Grandma and Grandpa while Marcela and I put together the evening’s dinner. Marcela cooked up some pasta and a couple sauces while I put together the salad. We all stuffed ourselves that night.

We then put on our suits and headed out to the pool. It was already late in the day, so the temperature was dropping quick. We still spent a couple of hours swimming and then enjoyed the warmth of the hot tub. It is amazing to see Geli float around in the hot tub. She will be swimming in no time. Geli loved the warm water and played with some little squirting whales that Grandma had given her.

We went back to the room and watched a little TV. Van Helsing was on as well as the Spurs/Hornets game. We turned down the volume and started up another poker game. Geli was getting tired, so I went and put her down for the night. After I got back into the game, Marcela and mom said they were worn out and headed to bed. After that, Dad and Ernest cleaned up while Bob and I just barely hung around.

After we finished up, we sat around and watched the end of the Spurs game. I read another book for a while and headed to bed.

FRIDAY:

I woke up Friday morning to go to the bathroom. As I pulled myself out of bed, I head little feet running through the hall yelling ‘wake up!’ Geli was obviously awake.

We sat down for a little Playhouse Disney on TV while dad cooked up some eggs, bacon and pico de gallo for breakfast. He used ALL of the tomatoes for the pico de gallo. More on that later.

We then headed down to the beach to build some sand castles. Geli didn’t quite understand the purpose of the castles, so she basically walked around and tried to help. Marcela and I took over a sand castle that was half washed away the night before. I believe some kids from the hotel had put it together. Dad made a sphinx castle, mom took some pictures and Geli went running into the ocean.

Bob and Ernest showed up a bit later and created some water outlets for our castle before starting their own. There was black colored sand only a couple inches into the ground which put a bit of a damper on how pretty our castles looked. The color just wasn’t right, but we all had fun.

We moved on back to the pool area and swam around for another hour or so. Dad when up to the room and brought down some stuff to make on the outside grills. He cooked up some shrimp, hot dogs and buns on the grill, but there was a problem. BUGS! They were everywhere. No matter where you were, there was a least one bug either sitting next to you or in the air. We managed to eat despite the little bastards. Geli really loved the shrimp and ate half of a hot dog as well.

Marcela, Geli and I went back up to the room and decided to just take a quick group shower. While trying to let Marcela get to the water, I lost my footing and fell. I went shins first into the edge of the bath tub, but could not support myself. I kept going forward into the curtain and then palms first to the ground. The shower curtain went with me. We all had a real big laugh and my shins were only a little bruised from the hit. Needless to say, we don’t plan to do that again.

Marcela and I then headed off to Corpus Christi to pick up some items at the HEB Plus. We got some flowers for mom to celebrate mothers day, The Nose Book for Geli, Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader to play that evening, a Disney car for Geli and a couple other items. It was nice to see a little bit of civilization again after being on the island.

We went back home where Bob and Ernest were making dinner. They were making mexican tacos... but they were missing something... tomatoes! So, our tacos were tomoato-free, but they were still excellent to eat. Dad was worn out and went to take a nap. Bob, Marcela, Geli, mom and I sat down to play the game we bought while Ernest went to his room for a bit.

The game was not too difficult to play, but there were a few that stumped us all. I guess we really are not as smart as 5th graders. Dad and Ernest joined in a little later and we all enjoyed the rest of the evening. I finished the day reading a bit more and passing out for our last evening at the resort.

SATURDAY:

Saturday was a blur. Marcela wanted to get home before the sun started baking us, and she really missed Peanut. We had a quick breakfast and packed up our stuff. We were out of there by 9 am and said our goodbyes. Overall, the trip was a blast. We all got a little darker and exercised plenty by swimming every day. I cannot wait until next year to do it again.